A/N I am still working on AttentionDeficitDisorder! It's just slow going XD! Sorry!

Well, here's number two in the series!

Prompt #2. Love

Naruto had never known pure undiluted love that came from a parent or a member of family, but he could imagine it felt like a gigantic, soft hug that stole your breath away and made your eyes clog with tears of happiness. Sasuke had known pure undiluted love. His mother had lavished it upon him and so had his father, in a sense. Sasuke knew what love felt like, but Itachi had stolen all of that from him and made the feeling a distant, wonderful dream.

The withdrawal of love had left Naruto loud and over the top in an attempt to convert attention into something much deeper. When that failed, attention was the next best thing whether it was good or bad. Practical jokes became his forte and the attention he received made him feel better, but not whole. The constant feeling of being an outcast made him crave the mere touch of someone else, unless the touch was not a kind one. Despite the ice cold exterior Sasuke craved the warmth of touch almost as much as Naruto, even while he rejected Sakura again and again. Her love didn't make him feel warm.

Their minds set on their goals, the only time romance had ever graced their thoughts was in that curious moment between awareness and sleep; leaving them with a vague sense of loss. In the harsh light of day it was easily squashed. The thoughts of first kisses and partners were only briefly touched, Naruto proclaiming his fake love of Sakura so openly because he knew that if she accepted him he'd feel warm for the first time, even though she so constantly refused him.

It seemed that Sasuke who had everything he wanted was going, subtly, out of his way to thwart Naruto of Sakura's warmth. Naruto responded in the one way he knew would make Sasuke react. Intense annoyance. Glaring not two inches away from his rival's face had slightly softened the blow of the newest let down and given him a brief twist of pleasure to see Sasuke's eyes narrow in irritation. Naruto had not counted on being knocked from behind and sent flying into Sasuke, smashing lips against lips in the sudden loss of balance. The electric snap of instant heat that shot through their systems leaving them slightly weak kneed and wide eyed was quickly squashed by the harsh gasp and silence of the crowd, rejection of a different kind.

The sound of a single footstep was all they needed to break the spell that seemed to wrap around them and tie them into place. They jerked away from each other, avoiding eyes, and pretended to retch and gag in an attempt to say, "Hey, woah, ew!"

Naruto paid for his warmth while Sasuke didn't. The relentless fists of the pretty Sakura-chan hammered home the message that he would always be rejected, he'd never find love and he would certainly never again feel the warmth that had pooled in his chest. The few tears that leaked out weren't only physical pain. As he couldn't hit Sakura-chan back all there was to do was to curl into a ball and try to lessen the pain of the blows.

A quick glance at Sasuke showed him sitting as cool as a cucumber, ignoring the yelps of Naruto and the growling of the rest of the girls laying into the small orange clad boy. Naruto had never felt a bigger welling of hatred before. How dare that boy who'd only lost his parents sit there. How dare that boy who knew love and had it lavished on him every day so willingly by a thousand girls just sit there. How dare that boy get everything Naruto wanted.

But that spark had caught the bundle of dry wood that was Naruto's heart. A tiny, tiny smouldering ember had nestled into the depths of the pile, waiting to be fanned into life by someone who cared. All it needed was time.

A/N There you go :3 Have another one XD.